Effect of Rootstock and Fruit Harvest Date on Quantitative, Qualitative and Storage Attributes of ‘Golden Delicious’ Apple

Abstract

Use of dwarf rootstocks in apples like M9 and MM111 can help to achieve higher yield and early fruit bearing, and MM11 is also resistant to aphid apple. The effect of rootstock and harvest date on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of ‘Golden Delicious’ apple fruit was studied during the harvest period and storage time. To compare between two apple rootstocks M9 and MM111 and three different harvest dates, including 150 days (first harvest), 165 days (second harvest) and 180 days (third harvest) after flowering to determine optimal fruit quality at the time of harvest and after storage, physical and chemical characteristics were measured on each harvest date and after 35-day periods until the end of the storage time. The results showed that the quality parameters of the fruit at the time of harvest and after storage depend on the type of rootstock and the degree of ripening of the apples. So that the fruits of the first harvest date after the end of storage and MM111 rootstock had the highest amount of fruit firmness, density, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acid (TA), total sugar, content of starch, dry matter, phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity and the lowest percentage of weight loss, decay and physiological disorders, followed by fruits of the second and third harvest dates.